


We're Not Going To Pretend This Is Okay

by flavourless_fiction (orphan_account)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cheating, Established Relationship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, mentions of drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-04-23 20:15:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4890628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/flavourless_fiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akaashi used to drink to make sure he didn't feel as guilty after, at least now when he's feeling guilty there's someone else that feels as bad as him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Cliche Drunken Kiss

As always it started with a drunken kiss. They’d actually managed to joke about it after, it was more a case of Kuroo joking with Bokuto whilst he leant against his boyfriend, trying to remember what lead up to him being in Kuroo’s lap, their hands roaming each other’s bodies, lips at times the others but there was the occasion where one would attach their lips to the other’s neck. It had happened not even five minutes ago and yet he couldn’t place a reason as to why he possibly would have done that.

He was too drunk to think about much, he could only think about what was going on immediately, the kiss was in his memory because they were talking about it. Bokuto’s hand holding onto his, his thumb gently rubbing over the top of it. Bokuto must have been okay with it, if he was laughing about it now.

***

“Kuroo you useless slut, wake up!” He was awoken by the grumblings of his boyfriend shaking not only his body but that of the person whose arms were wrapped around his body. He could have sworn that when he crashed the night before Bokuto was with him. Although the other could have very well left after he’d passed out to party some more. That wouldn’t have been surprising. “Sorry Keiji, I didn’t mean to wake you.” The figure above them said, having noticed that his eyes were open, or the displeased expression on his face.

He merely rolled into the warm body beside him, trying to fall back to sleep, doing his absolute best to ignore the pounding headache that was most definitely caused by the alcohol consumption from the night before. “Go away.” He grumbled, into the warm chest. He could tell that it most definitely wasn’t Bokuto at this point, his boyfriend did not run that hot, out of the two of them, he was the one that would get hot in their sleep.

There were some quiet grumblings from the person beside him, a conversation occurred even, except Akaashi was already too close to being asleep to understand them. It was only the movement of him being released and then left alone in the bed, that was the shock wake up call, well it was more because of the cool air hitting him. “Where’s Koutarou?” He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, staring around the unfamiliar room, numerous things blurred around the edges, at least he’d removed his contacts before going to sleep.

There were a few stifled chuckles from the pair that were still in the room, his glasses being handed to him from Kuroo. He did not remember bringing them here but thankfully he did, at least he could see now. “Do I look and sound like a different person or something?” His boyfriend said amongst the laughter. Of course Bokuto was the one that would label Kuroo as a slut, he was the one that the other seemed to confide in about his love life. “Nice job on the hickey on Kuroo by the way, it’s so dark you’d think it was on someone that was pale.”

Akaashi frowned, trying to figure out what he meant by that. Glancing at Kuroo’s neck to see the dark bruise that sat proudly on the older man’s neck. “I’m sorry.” He muttered, glancing away from the other, who seemed to be in the process of changing but still involved in the conversation.

“Don’t worry, it’s not the first I’ve gotten and it won’t be the last.” He said, seeming to laugh at himself, Bokuto placing himself next to Akaashi, an arm around his midsection, almost protectively. “How much did you drink last night to get to the point where you were willing to even kiss me, let alone what actually happened?”

“Too much, considering I don’t actually remember what happened before then.”

The two both seemed to stiffen at that, he felt Bokuto’s arm grip him tighter and witnessed Kuroo tense up just slightly. The latter seemed to be slightly more relaxed than the former, although Akaashi could admit he probably wouldn’t be comfortable with witnessing Bokuto kiss someone else. Although he wouldn’t be as blatantly protective.“All I know is the you initiated it Keiji, to start off with you were both hesitant but the both of you got super into it really fast, it was gross but also kind of funny.” Bokuto uttered, finally releasing him from his arms, the former setter laying back on the bed. “Kuroo we actually need to leave or we’re going to be late.”

Akaashi sighed softly, taking it as a message that he too needed to leave given that he had slept in Kuroo’s bed overnight, had they all slept in this bed? It definitely could have fit all three of them and possibly a few more people.

His knight in shining armour of course had to be Kuroo, condescendingly ruffling his hair with a laugh. “You can sleep in here for a few more hours if you want, the only thing that’s going to happen is I’m going to block your boyfriend over and over until he claims he’s going to quit volleyball.”

He let out a mumble telling the two to have fun, removing his glasses as he settled into the bed again. It was easy to fall into a slumber again once they departed, the warmth of the bed comforting him.

***

He was alone when he woke, hastily trying to gather his things that were in Kuroo’s room, which only consisted of a sweater, glasses (which had fallen off of the bed), and his shoes. He was unable to locate his phone or wallet in the bedroom though.

His headache from earlier had only improved slightly, the hangover clearly being a day long issue rather than something he was going to be able to sleep off. The closed curtains in the bedroom had been a godsend given that the second he stepped into the main part of the small apartment, the early afternoon sun hit his eyes, leaving him wishing he hadn’t drank as much as he had last night.

He moved around the couch, lifting the cushions in the search for his two more important items, finding his phone under the couch in the end. However, he still couldn’t find his wallet, which meant that the key to his dorm was probably also missing, given that he normally would keep it in the section of his wallet that intended for coins.

When the door to the apartment was opened Akaashi did jump slightly, his body relaxing when he saw that it was just Kuroo. “What are you looking for?” Kuroo asked, dropping what must have been a bag full of his training gear by the door.

“My wallet.” He said, rather stiffly, pushing himself off of the floor, giving up on finding it under any pieces of furniture in this miniscule section of the living space. It was unsurprising that he hadn’t found it at this point, given that area was rather clutter, something that was rather unusual for Kuroo but was self explanatory given that the clutter was all caused the night before. “Did Bokuto take it from me last night, he’s done that before?”

“I don’t think so, it could be in the bathroom, I’ll check for you.” The other muttered, Akaashi barely catching the end of it. The former setter sat himself down on the couch, eyes trained on the rug, admiring the pattern on it.

There was no way that Kuroo had purchased this, it had to be something that his parents had bought him, it didn’t match anything else within the apartment. He knew the other wasn’t an interior designer or someone that ran a trendy aesthetic blog but Kuroo wouldn’t have picked out something that clashed with everything so much.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts but I don’t feel like throwing up at all.” Akaashi could hear Kuroo’s laughter from the other room at his response. “What?”

Akaashi looked over his shoulder to see Kuroo peaking out from bathroom, holding up what had to be his wallet. “There couldn’t have been anything left in you to throw up. You must have spent half an hour in here last night with your head in the toilet.”

“I don’t remember that.” He admitted, catching the wallet as it was thrown to him. “I only remember bits and pieces of it.”

That only earned him more laughter, thankfully it wasn’t the mocking kind that he had listened to numerous times over the years. “I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.” Kuroo said, smirking at him, the couch shifting as he sat beside him. “How much do you tell Bokuto about your drunken escapades?”

That question stung a little bit, one could easily say it wasn’t the first time that he’d gotten drunk and hooked up with someone that wasn’t his boyfriend. Hell, it wasn’t even the first time that it had been Kuroo, although, he didn’t need to deal with a question like that. “You already know the answer.” Akaashi muttered, his eyes meeting Kuroo’s the older wearing a slightly confused expression. Perhaps he didn’t then. “I’m not like you Kuroo, I don’t feel the need to tell him everything about my life. I don’t want to be an open book.”

“Because you’re afraid he’ll call you out and break up with you?” He could see the other was surprised he’d let that out, the pair staring at each other silently; Akaashi trying to figure out if he should wait for the other to apologize or get up and leave, and Kuroo clearly trying to find the right way to make the situation better. Kuroo’s mouth opened and closed twice before any words actually came out. “I’d be a hypocrite to judge you for what’s happened, given that I was nowhere near the level you were on, any of the times something has… happened. I just understand why you, who looks almost starstruck when Bokuto is around at times, would keep drinking and letting it happen.”

“Let’s call it self loathing punishment to appease you.” Akaashi said, leaning back against the seat and somewhat into Kuroo. He knew that was a lie, there was no way it was even slightly believable, given how happy he actually was with himself and his life. It was just less embarrassing than saying anything that was honest.

Kuroo didn’t believe him for a second it seemed, muttering unintelligible words to himself for a brief moment. That was before he openly said what he was thinking. “You lie way to easily, if you were doing that, you’d openly cheat all the time. Instead you only do it when you’re drunk and when you think he won’t find out, last night was a rarity and we both know it.”

There wasn’t anything he could say to that, because the other was right, he’d hit the metaphorical nail on the head. If Akaashi could find a way into making himself believe the words he said then it wouldn’t be an issue. “I love Bokuto.” He sighed, saying the first honest thing that came to his mind. “But he’s predictable-”

“In other words he’s safe” Kuroo interrupted, seemingly unfazed by what he’d just heard. Akaashi wouldn’t be surprised if Kuroo accused him of being bored at this point. “Break up with him then.”

“I can’t.”

“But you can mess around with me and other guys once you’ve drunk enough that you can’t feel guilty anymore?” For someone that spoke with an even tone the entire time, Kuroo’s words really didn’t match up. He should be yelling it wouldn’t have been the first time they’d argued before, but now the man seemed oddly calm.

The question had to have been rhetorical though, there was no way Kuroo was asking for that answer, it was one that absolutely nobody needed to know. “Are you mad at yourself, is that why you’re throwing this at me now?”

“I just want to know what’s going on in your head.”

“Why do you deserve to know that?”

“Because you keep initiating whilst you’ve had too much to drink and the one time we ever tried to talk about it whilst sober, we ended up having sex!” Now his voice was raised slightly, the truth coming out of one of them at least.

“You think I’m leading you on?”

“That’s not what I said!” The two of them seemed to be closer than before, the innocent expression that Akaashi had been wearing just moments before, replaced with a scowl as he now picked at Kuroo for the whole truth, the other looking like he wanted to escape but making no movement to do so. “Are you even actually attracted to me, or is it because I’m Bokuto’s best friend?”

Akaashi could sense that, this was the question Kuroo would have loved to have gotten out, before he’d gotten defensive, now the other seemed to afraid to even want to hear the answer. “This is about you and me, not just me doing, sometimes regrettable things under the influence isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

 


	2. Does He Make You Cry Like That?

He hadn’t expected to make Akaashi cry, nor had he set out to do so, but there the other was leaning against him, head buried into his neck, soft sobs coming from him. Kuroo felt helpless, holding him, rubbing small circles on his back.

There wasn’t anything he could say, or do at this point. He’d pushed and prodded too far, it had been a tug of war but in the end Akaashi had been the one to drop the rope and give up. Kuroo didn’t label himself as a spiteful person, however, some of what he had said was due to a slight degree of jealousy. Although the stick that broke the camel’s back, had been the rejection. Kuroo pushing Akaashi away from him, initially the other just looked shocked but before he could even respond with words, the tears started to fall. Kuroo hadn’t even had the chance to notice that the other was so close to breaking at that point. He’d assumed that the other was just annoyed, something had been off about it because he’d seen the other argue with Bokuto once or twice but he’d never paid attention to detail, because he wasn’t directly involved.

“Does he make you cry like that?” Kuroo asked, running a hand through the curled ends of Akaashi’s messy locks.

That was enough to get the other to move away, Kuroo taking note of Akaashi’s red cheeks. Just how warm was his own body? “Bokuto doesn’t see me cry.” He said softly, not meeting Kuroo’s eye, the older frowning at the fact that his question remained unanswered.

It was a simple enough dodge of the question, but Kuroo wasn’t the idiot that everyone thought he was. “I didn’t ask whether he ever seen you cry or not.”

“I know.” His voice was even softer now, Kuroo couldn’t help but notice that Akaashi refused to meet his eye. It all seemed so strange, he’d never seen such avoidance in a person before. That was a lie, his parents used to do it to him all the time but they were ‘well meaning’ in avoiding his childish questions. “Bokuto’s amazing, I love him-”

“Akaashi, answer the fucking question.” Kuroo growled, feeling absolutely no remorse for cutting the other off. How could he, the other was dodging a very simple question that all he needed to hear was a yes or no from. “Has he ever made you cry in the same way I did?”

“No.”

“Has he made you cry at all?”

“Not from anything he’s done… I mean I have cried about him, every time I’ve ever cheated, I end up crying about it once I’m alone.”

There was no way that Kuroo could say that Akaashi was a bad person or even someone that didn’t care about people, not after hearing that. Everyone knew that Bokuto was difficult, even Bokuto would admit that at the best of times but it didn’t excuse any of their actions.

It actually made sense why the two didn’t live together, Akaashi fooling around with others, Bokuto being energetic to the point of being annoying. Not to mention the dozens of other things that made their personalities clash. It was amazing that they ever got along off of the volleyball court. Akaashi living on campus at the university was probably the healthiest thing for the relationship, if it weren’t for the sleeping around.

Three years ago had Kuroo put the three of them into categories, he would have labeled Bokuto as the one with the wildest lifestyle, and that was only because Bokuto was the one that would stay up late before big games and waste time before exams playing video games, rather than studying. Akaashi would have been the responsible one who seemed to not care about anything. Then Kuroo would have labelled himself as the one that was the middle ground, who could be irritated over excessive excitement and loudness. They’d fit into neat little boxes back then, some time apart seemed to change it all completely. Kuroo had spent a year overseas after high school graduation. When he got back he’d found out that Akaashi and Bokuto had started dating. It’d been a shock and yet part of it also made sense. What hadn’t made sense was the first time he’d partied with Akaashi that he’d realized that his fellow first year was cheating on his beloved boyfriend.

Well the first shock was actually that he and Akaashi had chosen the exact same elective courses, he was sure that Akaashi thought it was more odd that they were in the same year now, given that he was the year older. Kuroo would have found it strange had he gone straight into school and one of his former senpai was in the same year as him. Even if Akaashi did think that though, he never mentioned it to him.

“Do you want me to leave?” He heard Akaashi sniffle, feeling him actually move closer to him, Akaashi taking ahold of Kuroo’s hand. Showing the clear sign that he wanted anything but being made to leave.

It wouldn’t take much to get him to leave if that was what Kuroo actually wanted, he knew that Akaashi wasn’t rude enough to force his presence upon others if they didn’t want him there. “No, you can stay.” He said, watching as Akaashi kept shifting the way that he held his hand. He let his hand be loose, only reacting if Akaashi squeezed his hand or his grip got overly slack.

The time on his DVD player read 16:18, they’d been sitting out here for longer than he had expected, although Kuroo was sure that it ran a few minutes fast. Every time keeping device ran at a different rate than another in his apartment. It was infuriating and yet he was very rarely late for anything, his phone was probably the most trust worthy device.

“Do you want to eat something?” He got an affirmative noise as a response, prompting Kuroo to get up, watching as Akaashi slumped into couch even more than he had previously. Although he had kept ahold of his hand. “Do you want food or not?” That was when he was given back his limb, heading back into the small kitchen space.

Kuroo wouldn’t say that he was a good cook, he couldn’t kill people with his food but he only knew how to make a very limited amount of things. Meat and carbohydrates were the things he was best at, and even then he’d messed up rice way too many times.

Lucky for both parties involved he had leftover pizza and Chinese, the amount of food they must have ordered was over the top. “Can I have some of the pizza?” Akaashi asked, his head popping up from the couch, somehow managing to smell it, even though he hadn’t taken it out of the fridge.

He took the box of pizza and placed it on the counter. “How can you smell that?” He asked, taking out a few pieces and placing them on the plate. “Do you want it heated up?”

“If you’re doing it then I will.” Akaashi said, as though he was attempting to seem like he wasn’t trying to be an inconvenience.

Taking out a separate plate, Kuroo placed a few extra pieces on it, shoving that one in the microwave and turning it on for a minute and a half. In that small space of time Kuroo busied himself, moving all of the bottles onto the counter space that sat above the trash. When he turned he saw Akaashi directly in front of him, causing Kuroo to jump slightly. He hadn’t heard a single footstep, which was surprising given there were a few floorboards that creaked in his living space.

“Bokuto keeps texting you.” Akaashi said, handing Kuroo the phone.

Kuroo stared at the phone, seeing three extra text messages being received within the time he was handed the phone. “What the fuck?” He muttered, unlocking his phone to go through the messages he’d received. “The pizza in the microwave is yours, you can get it out.”

From: **_Bokuto ¯\\_(_** ** _ツ_** ** _)_/¯_**

_Is Akaashi still at your place?_

_I think his phone is dead_

_Called him like 50000000000000 times_

_No answer_

_S2g no one can respond these days_

_Kuroo_

_Kuroo_

_Kurooooooooooooooooo_

_What are you doing you’re always on your phone_

_Training wasn’t even that hard_

_You can’t possibly be sleeping_

Kuroo groaned softly, wanting to throw his phone across the room, but it wasn’t going to make him stop texting him. “All of these messages are within ten minutes.” He sighed, showing his phone to Akaashi who merely snorted, looking slightly more amused than Kuroo could have expected.

“Tell him I’m not here.”

“You mean lie.”

“Not like you haven’t lied to him before.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

“Annoying…”

To: **_Bokuto ¯\\_(_** ** _ツ_** ** _)_/¯_**

_He just left but you need to chill_

“Are you happy?” He asked, stuffing a slice of pizza into his mouth, trying not to laugh at the disgusted face Akaashi pulled.

“You’re only slightly less gross than Bokuto.” He grumbled, nibbling on his own slice of pizza.

Kuroo chuckled, glad to see that Akaashi had perked up in the last few minutes, even if the red rings around his eyes were still relatively evident.

There was only going to be so long before Bokuto’s spam of messages resumed, most of them asking if he knew where Akaashi had gone but there were two that asked if he wanted to hang out. He knew that is Bokuto was done freaking out about Akaashi he wouldn’t be as much of a pain in the ass, they’d probably just end up playing video games, or watching an upcoming opponent’s match. For being the captain of the team, Bokuto wasn’t the most attentive at researching other teams. That task usually fell into the hands of the vice captain but when there was a team that interested Bokuto he’d watch matches over and over again.

“You might actually need to leave.” Kuroo muttered, typing a non-committal reply to the spam of text messages.

“Okay…” There was a certain softness to Akaashi’s voice, it didn’t seem like he was disappointed, he couldn’t quite pinpoint it, however, he did see that Akaashi’s expression was rather neutral, content even. Something that Kuroo had not expected from him, it was as though he expected Akaashi to be acting heart broken because of everything that was going on, he didn’t think he’d revert into his regular attitude so quickly. “Can I ask why?”

“Bokuto is probably coming over.” He sighed, getting the message that was a confirmation that Bokuto was going to come over. “I can drive you to campus if you want, he’s probably not going to be here for an hour or so.”

“Yes please…”


	3. The Happy Couple

“Turn it off.” Akaashi grumbled, his face showing irritation due to the music that was playing. “It’s not sexy.”

Bokuto sat back on his heals, trying to find his phone to turn the music off. He fumbled through a few things until he heard it turn off. He turned his head to see Akaashi holding the phone, looking less than amused. He wasn’t going to be able to apologise, it wasn’t the time or the place, most importantly it wasn’t the time.

He leant forward to kiss Akaashi, only for the younger to duck his head, placing the phone on the bedside table. He tried twice more, only managing to kiss his neck or cheek, the former having more of an effect in getting Akaashi’s attention. “Keiji…” He whined, opting with peppering kisses against his neck. “You were into it not five minutes ago, what’s wrong?”

Bokuto shifted his body, knowing he wasn’t going to get what he wanted at this point and if he didn’t respect that, then his boyfriend would just demand to go home. Which he wanted even less than not getting any action. “You killed the mood and sometimes I feel like you just invite me to stay the night so we can have sex.”

He couldn’t help but scoff, surprised that he was even suggesting something like that. He didn’t know whether Akaashi was just acting paranoid or if he genuinely believed that he was only interested in having the other over to stimulate his own sexual appetite. Nine times out of ten, his boyfriend would be the one to initiate.

There wasn’t much he could do though, if he wasn’t interested, then that was that. He didn’t want to fight they did that too often it seemed, even though it was over things that were stupid. For example, his alleged ‘possessive’ behaviour the other accused him over the other week. Which Bokuto thought was perfectly justified given he’d witnessed his boyfriend and best friend make out as though it had happened plenty of times before.

He wasn’t jealous, it just was kind of unsettling to see that happen and he’d wanted to just clear the air about it the next night which had rubbed Akaashi the wrong way apparently. They’d never argued like that before but it had resulted in them making up and just talking through a few of their other issues later that night.

It was as though it needed to happen. Something that neither of them would care to admit but by the end of it, everything felt right for him, he didn’t know what was going through Akaashi’s mind however. He’d never know because even when Akaashi was excited, a lot of the time his face screamed bored. “What’s wrong Kou?”

The voice sounded a lot more distant than it was, given that they were in such a close proximity, lying next to each other. Bokuto didn’t know if it was just because he was so immersed in his own thoughts or if it was because Akaashi was being more cold than usual this evening but it was strange. “I’m kind of confused and also worried that you’d get all, ‘I want to go home’. The confusion is more because I don’t know if I did something wrong.” He grumbled, putting an arm around Akaashi’s waist, as though he was going to cuddle into him, even though he made no movement to do so.

“You didn’t, aside from the terrible music.” Akaashi said, turning over to face Bokuto. “I’m just not in the mood.”

He couldn’t help but feel relieved, happy that Akaashi didn’t have any extra reasoning to pushing him away. Well at least he had to trust that, that was how he felt.

A few minutes passed with the pair lying in silence, his phone buzzing on the bedside table, every so often. Bokuto looked at Akaashi to see a small smile, his face lighting up at how content his boyfriend looked. “What?”

“You seem really at peace.” He whispered, kissing him on the cheek. “Can you pass me my phone?”

There was a slight scoff as the phone was handed over, most of the texts being from Kuroo but a few of the others being from members the volleyball team. It was late to be getting messages from then but given that they had a few exams coming up, it made sense that they’d be using him to get to the coach to ask for training times to be changed. Kuroo’s messages on the other hand were random, making little to no sense and then a few requests.

“Kozume asked Kuroo to ask you if you’d colour his hair next weekend.” He said, typing out an answer to all the other questions he’d received. “I’m guessing he’s staying at Kuroo’s that weekend.”

“How does he know I’m here?”

Bokuto threw his phone back on the bedside table, over shooting it and the phone hitting the floor. “I told him and you’re widely known to not reply to any messages for hours on end.”

“Well tell him I said yes.”


	4. The Cliched Genius Idea

“Why don’t you trust Kuroo to do this?” Akaashi asked as he squeezed some of the dye into his gloved hand, applying it into the roots.

He could think of a few reasons why he personally wouldn’t let Kuroo dye his hair but he knew that almost every time previously, Kozume had gotten him to do it. He couldn’t possibly imagine the disaster that the idiot could have created. Just with a simple bottle of dye, he knew there was a chance that Kuroo hadn’t used the gloves in the packet and stained his hands. That would be reason enough in his mind. “Last time he dyed it, my hair ended up white because he claimed to have set an alarm when he forgot to.” Kozume sighed, out of the corner of his eye he could see Kuroo making a face, either as a reaction to the comment or at whatever he’d just read in his text book.

It really was a simple task, to set a timer, in all honesty they were probably both at fault. Whose internal clock was that bad that they left dye in for so long that their hair ended up white? Akaashi really had thought the setter was better than that. However, apparently he held his expectations too high for him. Much like how his expectations were very low for Kuroo and he managed to impress him over and over again.

“What are you doing for the photography assignment?” Kuroo asked, the question obviously directed at him, considering Kozume went to a different school to them, and well they were in the same class. “Wait that sounds stupid.”

Akashi laughed softly, understanding that Kuroo wanted to know who he was using as his subject for the assignment rather than what he was doing for the overall assignment. “I haven’t decided, it’s easiest to use someone that’s either taking photography and you can use each other, or someone with the same major because then you at least spend quite a few classes with them already.” He said, finishing off getting the dye through the ends of Kozume’s hair, before tying it up. “You need to wait about 25 minutes at this point.”

There was a soft hum as acknowledgement that he understood, Akaashi watching as Kozume exited the game he was playing and setting the timer. “You have a month left and you haven’t picked anyone.” Kuroo said smugly, as though he had someone to stalk for a few weeks.

“We got the assignment yesterday.” Akaashi said, standing and taking the gloves off, disposing them into the garbage. “And don’t act superior considering you didn’t start the last assignment until a week before it was due.”

He saw Kuroo mock pain, holding his hand over his heart as though he were offended. “I don’t have one either but you don’t have to be so rude.” Akaashi could hear the sarcasm dripping from his words, clearly not even bothered by the comment that Akaashi had made.

“Why don’t you use each other as your subjects?” Kozume suggested, having moved up into Akaashi’s seat on the couch, leaving him to sit on the floor.

It wasn’t the worst idea. In fact, it was one of the easier ones given that they took two classes together, which meant they saw each other at the very least four days a week. They also studied together occasionally. Then there was the partying, which probably wouldn’t be happening for awhile, given it being exams and assignment season. As well as a few big games coming up for the volleyball team.

That wasn’t going to ease his conscious, doing the project with Kuroo certainly wasn’t going to ease it, in any way shape or form. It’d probably make matters oh so much worse. Unless one got mad at the other and they had another heated discussion.

“We could.” Kuroo said slowly, his thoughts clearly being very similar to Akaashi’s as he placed the textbook on the coffee table. He did seem a lot more eager to work with Akaashi as his subject than Akaashi did. It was typical of Kuroo, not because he doesn’t feel remorse but because he could see past everything and not dwell on it. “What do you think, Akaashi?”

“I think it would be more than convenient.” He muttered, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with his shirt. “But I’m not saying I will.”

He could see an idea forming on Kuroo’s face, he looked absolutely delighted with whatever he had come up with. Kozume was the one to speak up, looking less than amused at Kuroo’s excitement. “If this is about dying my hair blue, again the answer will always be no.” He grumbled, starling Akaashi, he’d heard a conversation about that between Bokuto and Kuroo once but it hadn’t seemed that serious, merely a ‘how cool would that be?’ conversation.

“I’ve accepted that.” Kuroo said, waving it off with a laugh. “I thought of something for my assignment.” Akaashi didn’t even blink and Kuroo had climbed over the couch, going over to the bench and picking up what Akaashi could only guess was a notebook.

His eyes followed Kuroo move around the apartment, picking up a pen along with his camera bag, only to witness the look of dismay when it wasn’t as heavy when it should have been. He disappeared into the bedroom for a moment, returning with the camera in his free hand. “Why do you even need that?” Akaashi asked, pulling a face as he watched Kuroo turn the camera on.

“There’s a theory about you.” He muttered, seeming to fiddle around with the camera as he sat back down.

“What theory?” He scoffed.

Kuroo didn’t get to speak before Kozume’s alarm went off, Akaashi and Kuroo both watching as he got up and headed into the bathroom. “Just take one of the towels off of the shelf.” Kuroo called out as the door was shut, leaving them alone for at least five minutes. “So the theory, Bokuto is convinced that there isn’t a bad picture of you in existence.”

Akaashi’s mouth fell open, mildly annoyed that they were talking about him in that sense without him being there to defend himself. Was that really defending himself though? It would most likely be interpreted as he was asking for compliments. “That can’t be true, and he’s biased. If I can text back frequently he thinks I’m a God. Not the reason why I’m terrible at texting or answering phone calls.”

“You think he thinks very highly of you.” Kuroo muttered, staring down at his camera. Akaashi didn’t know what he was doing until he moved up onto the couch, realising way too slowly that he’d had multiple opportunities in the past few minutes. “I mean it’s true, but you should get your ego in check.”

“That’s a bit pot calling the kettle black don’t you think?” He asked, leaning into Kuroo as he watched him flick through photos, deleting some every now and then. “Wait stop.” He said softly, looking at a photo of him and Bokuto. He didn’t ever remember the photo being taken but even he couldn’t deny it was both a good quality photo and really showed off how much it seemed that Bokuto adored him. “When did you take this?”

The only things that he actually recognised from the photo was the clothes they were wearing and that it was in Bokuto’s apartment. He must have been drunk when the photo was taken. That would explain it perfectly. “I know I have an ego; why do you think I act the way I do?” Akaashi watched as Kuroo frowned, probably attempting to remember when the photo was taken. “That was after the first game of the season this year.”

“Was I drunk?”

“Probably, everyone was.”

It wasn’t a party at Bokuto’s if they weren’t drinking. They couldn’t even play a game of cards without some sort of alcohol coming out. He did remember there being a party after that game though, everyone celebrating the first win of the season, which made everyone that had doubts about Bokuto being captain realising how stupid they were. The most significant memory he had about it, was that in the morning they’d had a fight. Probably one of the bigger ones they’d had too, it had been about his refusal to move in, by the end of the argument, Bokuto had accepted his point of view, realising how much they really did fight.

“Are you staying here tonight, going to Bokuto’s or going home?” Kuroo’s changing of the subject, regained his focus. He only knew that one was a no, that being staying at Bokuto’s, had his boyfriend come over tonight, that would have been his answer as it was convenient and he would drive them to his place and then drive him home in the morning. He hated the idea of barging in late at night because it was easier to crash there than take the train home, or worse, have to walk, which was going to be more than an effort.

His best option would have been to sleep on Kuroo’s couch, had it not been for the fact that Kenma had already declared he wasn’t going to share a bed with Kuroo because he was too ‘cuddly’, which really just resulted in Kuroo claiming he wasn’t even that bad and using Akaashi and Bokuto as examples of people that were worse. Something that Akaashi didn’t even try to deny because he knew that he did cuddle into people whilst he was asleep. “I’ll either stay here or go home.” He sighed, adjusting the way that he sat, only to lean against Kuroo even more. “It depends how long I stay; I mean in an hour or two it’s a lot more likely that I’ll just stay here.”

He didn’t flinch away at the arm that went around him, keeping him close as the two stared at the camera, neither one really commenting on what was in the actual photo but the quality of it, or the lens that he had been using. Akaashi found this strangely natural, much like how he and Bokuto were most of the time, it was almost too natural for his liking.

It made him feel guilty even though he wasn’t actually doing anything wrong, there was no denying he was enjoying being so close to Kuroo, but it wasn’t right for them to be this close. Not when he had a boyfriend. Perhaps his enjoyment was what kept him close, the tension from the other week still existed but that wasn’t any cause for concern at this time in his mind.

He could feel that Kuroo had realised the degree of tension too, the arm around him loosening slightly, it was as though he was trying to push him away but simultaneously attempting to keep him close. If he really wanted him to move, he would have spoken up or taken his arm away entirely. “What is your idea for your project?” He finally mumbled, tilting his head up to look at Kuroo, who had instantly shifted his gaze towards him.

“I want to tell a story from whoever is behind the camera’s perspective, so that it seems like it’s their eyes.” Akaashi had actually heard this idea before from Kuroo, he’d spent the whole first year talking about how once he got into the elective course he wanted to do something like that. There was one evening where he had droned on about it for hours and hours, only to have both him and Bokuto fall asleep, purely out of disinterest.

Now that they’d gotten into the class, it sounded incredibly interesting, just being able to pull it off with a high grade would be difficult when their professor had told them that the clean cut projects would be marked higher than something that was overly fancy. Grilling them about the margin for error. If he was the person that the photos were taken of, then he’d get to see the entire process.

“Now I actually want to be apart of it.” He chuckled, Kuroo squeezing his shoulder as a result. Just from that squeeze, he could tell the other was pleased that he’d managed to convince him so easily. Akaashi was impressed that he was so easily drawn into it. He would have gotten to see the process during their study sessions.

He watched as Kuroo moved his face alongside his, feeling Kuroo’s breath on his ear. “I’d kiss you right now if Kenma wasn’t going to walk back in at any moment.”

Akaashi sighed, lowering his head, feeling Kuroo’s lips against his forehead. “I probably shouldn’t stay tonight.” He muttered, moving away just slightly, more creating distance between their faces than anything. “You’re meant to be the semi reasonable one.”

“So you’re saying you’re not against it?”

“I think so, yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a quick explanation, to tell who is going to be narrating the chapter is pretty obvious by it's name, Akaashi is alway to do with cliches, Kuroo's are a question and Bokuto will be the 'something' couple.  
> Also can anyone figure out what has recurred in every chapter and will continue with each chapter?


	5. Is Confronting Him Going To Be What's Best?

When Akaashi had first told him to close his eyes, Kuroo had expected a kiss, or something equally cute and affectionate. He’d done it willingly and smiled in anticipation. While he had not gotten anything near what he had expected, it pleased him almost as much though.

He honestly didn’t know what pleased him more, the childish laughter that came from him or what Akaashi was doing.

It was stupid how amusing it was, Akaashi under a sheet, pretending to be a ghost and unable to form a full sentence without laughing. When Kuroo asked what killed him, he’d played it off as a parent that had died from their children’s nagging but it had been hard to make out.

It took him only a few seconds to pull his phone out, recording a few seconds of him goofing around. “This is going to Bokuto.” He muttered, smirking at his phone, watching out of the corner of his eye as Akaashi pulled the sheet off of his face, his cheeks flushed from having laughed so much.

“He won’t believe it’s me.” Akaashi said, moving across the bed to look at the video, clearly amused by the snippet of footage. “And if he doesn’t he’ll assume that I’m drunk.”

Kuroo laughed as he hit send, putting his phone down and an arm around Akaashi. “You mean you’re not drunk?” He said in mock disbelief. Getting a reply from Bokuto in record time, clearly thinking it was someone other than Akaashi. “Well you were right, he doesn’t think it’s you.”

There was an amused noise that came from Akaashi, his phone being taken out of his hands and thrown across the room. It wasn’t as though he’d thrown it in a way that would risk it being broken, in fact it landed in a sweater, it still bothered Kuroo how easily Akaashi got away with it, there was no was doubt that had it been anyone other than him or perhaps Kenma then he would have bitten their head off. “You texting him right now makes me feel guilty.” He admitted. “Maybe I should have had a few drinks.”

He glanced at Akaashi, understanding the guilty comment, knowing that as much as the other flirted with him and did want to fool around with him, he’d always have his boyfriend in the back of his mind. If he could have taken it back he would have, it was too late now, both of them having been way too open about how they felt towards one another. “Nothing has to happen.” He sighed, of course that wasn’t what he wanted but he wasn’t about to have the other panic again, especially not with Kenma just in the other room.

Clearly the other was considering his suggestion, his face showing that he was slightly torn. “Shut up I’m fine.” Akashi grumbled, his statement seeming to be a reaction to whatever face Kuroo was making. Even when he wasn’t trying to bother someone he’d managed to do it. “Close your eyes again.”

Kuroo smirked, rolling his eyes as he saw the small smile on Akaashi’s face, already over what had bothered him just moments before. “You’re not going to do the ghost thing again are you?” The shake of his head was enough for Kuroo to believe him, Akaashi had never proved to be untrustworthy, unlike plenty of their other friends. If he thought about it hard enough, their friends played a lot of pranks, it bordered on too many.

As he closed his eyes, he saw Akaashi shift closer to him, feeling their noses brush together momentarily, the other’s soft breath hitting his lips, he couldn’t quite tell how close he was. It was unbelievable how tempting it was to open his eyes, just so he could find the right spot to kiss. “Keep them closed.” It was a command, not barked like a drill sergeant or strict but condescending teacher, but a command none the less.

He obeyed silently, feeling a soft pair of lips against his own. Too bad he didn’t have the chance to kiss back as they broke away, the shrill ringing of his phone causing the pair of them to frown. “I swear to God if that’s Bokuto…” Kuroo muttered, slowly getting off of the bed, scowling as he got the confirmation from the flashing phone that it was his friend. “Really?”

“Don’t answer it.”

“I have to I’m not you.” He muttered, hearing a groan as he watched Akaashi flop face first onto the bed. “What’s up?” Kuroo asked into the phone, keeping an eye on the other as he leant against a wall.

“Is Akaashi actually with you?” Bokuto asked, Kuroo instantly realising that the other was out of breath, as though he’d sprinted a mile.

“Yeah, he was considering going to yours but he is just going to crash here.” He saw Akaashi look up at him, the former setter realising that the conversation was instantly about him.

There was a pause from Bokuto’s end, the silence strange for someone that had just been panting a few seconds ago, almost as though the other had muted his phone. “Good, good, are you okay with him staying given that Kenma’s there, I could pick him up and take him to campus if that’s easier.”

Kuroo couldn’t help but roll his eyes, putting the phone on speaker, pressing a finger to his lips to tell Akaashi to stay silent. “No it’s fine, Kenma wants to sleep on the couch and you guys always bitch about how my bed is too big so he can share with me.” Slowly Kuroo moved, sitting beside Akaashi on the bed, watching the other’s eyes. Whilst the expression read that he was merely annoyed, Kuroo could see the cogs turning inside Akaashi’s brain, trying to figure something out. “What’s going on, you sound out of breath?”

“I’m okay, I was just checking, Akaashi left his phone here yesterday so it’s kind of hard to message him.” Kuroo watched as the other shook his head, getting the impression that it wasn’t the entire reason he called.

“Bokuto just tell me.”

“I’ve made a mistake, and I need to fix it.” It was a quick response, sounding far more panicked then before. However, before Kuroo even had a chance to respond there was a soft click and the phone was hung up.

The phone was taken from his hands for a second time that night, the scowl returning to Akaashi’s face. “He’s one to talk.” Kuroo heard, watching Akaashi type something. “Fucking idiot…”

Kuroo took the phone back quickly, more concerned about Akaashi throwing it against a wall and breaking it than anything else. He didn’t need to pay to fix a phone. He knew Bokuto had to do it once because the former setter had ‘accidentally’ thrown it too hard. “I’m not playing couples counsellor tonight.” He warned, resting the phone on his bedside table.

“It’s fine you don’t need to.” Akaashi whispered, pressing a quick kiss to Kuroo’s cheek. “Social media gives you enough of that.”

If Kuroo didn’t know any better, he would have said that Akaashi was fine, however, from experience this was the calm before the very angry storm, a storm which he really didn’t want to face. “Where you on Snapchat taking selfies?” He asked, mostly trying to lighten the mood but that would also have explained the random burst of typing.

“I took one and sent it to Bokuto, after I went through a story.”

“How did you do that so fast? And what does that have to do with Bokuto?”

There was an annoyed sigh before Akaashi spoke, Kuroo sincerely hoping that this wasn’t the beginning of the storm. “Bokuto’s ‘hanging out’ with Oikawa.” He mumbled, it suddenly dawning on Kuroo why Bokuto had sounded rather dodgy.

“He’s on our team, it could mean nothing.”

“It could also be the same thing as what’s going on right now, except I’m not sneaking around.”

“We could walk to his apartment, if you want to confront the situation, before he has time to make up excuses.”

He could see the cogs working again, Akaashi considering the suggestion. It wasn’t ideal for Kuroo personally at this time but whatever was going on did need to be resolved as soon as possible. “Let’s do that, yeah.”


	6. Cliched 'Angry sex'

_“What are you going to do?”_

_“I don’t know.”_

***

Akaashi had gone in looking for a fight. Having sat in Kuroo’s care before sending the other home, assuring him he’d either stay or go home and if he did the latter he’d let him know. A fight wasn’t exactly what he’d gotten, Oikawa leaving not two minutes after he walked through the door and then the rest was a blur.

He couldn’t connect the dots as to how he’d ended up under Bokuto, the two breathing each other’s air as their bodies rocked together in a slow rhythm. _This is probably a better short term outcome anyway_. He thought, they both knew it wasn’t healthy but right now it was what they both wanted and needed.

“Keiji-” He never heard what the other wanted to say, an obscenely loud moan replacing it, although it was easy to assume it was either an attempt at trying to talk dirty or some sort of swear. It didn’t matter now though, his lips pressed against Akaashi’s neck, trying to claim him as his own. He was going to have to wear something with a higher neckline tomorrow, it was too hot for scarves.

Akaashi didn’t have an issue with it though, wrapping his arms around Bokuto’s neck to keep his lips there. An outsider would have thought it was an intimate moment between the two of them, in reality it was Akaashi controlling the situation, letting Bokuto know that he wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t want it. That was why the rhythm and movements were so slow, Akaashi making disgruntled noises or complaining any time it wasn’t at a pace that was satisfactory to him.

There was silence between them for a few moments, silence being the only noise anyone could hear was their breathing, Bokuto’s far more erratic than his own. The silence only to be broken by a soft whimper, coming from his lover, the two falling out of sync and almost stopping all together. Akaashi released Bokuto, staring up at him as the other moved into a slightly more upright position. “What?” He asked, his voice stiffer than he had intended it to be.

“Do you hate me?” In the years that Akaashi had known Bokuto, let alone the years that they’d been together for, he’d never once seen, nor expected, him to go into dejected mode whilst in the bedroom. The soft pout making Akaashi pity him for a moment, if it weren’t for the fact that he was still mad he probably would have pitied him a whole lot more.

“I love you, Koutarou.” He whispered, pushing himself up onto his elbows, their faces close once again. Behind the pout Akaashi could see that Bokuto was angry as well, the only reason why this hadn’t turned into angry sex was Akaashi’s complaints. “Why do you think I hate you?” It possibly would have been better if it had gone that way and then the two just fell asleep together.

He saw the other’s bottom lip tremble, a sign that he’d given the wrong response. This was bad, Akaashi was in no position to be asking questions like that, his actions of late didn’t exactly make it look like he did love Bokuto. No matter how many times he said it to Kuroo before he kissed him, it was becoming harder to believe by the day.

Bokuto wasn’t that stupid, Akaashi knew that he knew something, perhaps that was why Oikawa had come over, as some sort of revenge. He had to feel bad for the other, if he was just some sort of pawn in their broken relationship, that wasn’t fair. At least Akaashi’s attraction to Kuroo was genuine. “What’s wrong with us?” Bokuto finally mumbled, everything really coming crashing down. Why had they even decided to have sex rather than actually fight or at least talk? They both might have been mad but they were rational enough to talk through their issues once they were tired of fighting.

“Kou, please don’t cry.” Akaashi whispered as he saw small tears start to form at the corner of Bokuto’s eyes. He didn’t need another reason to feel guilty. It wouldn’t be that bad if Akaashi was the only one that had cried over this situation. He at the time was only really hurting himself but now he was actually hurting the person he claimed to love.

It was too late though, the first tear rolling down Bokuto’s cheek, dropping onto Akaashi’s chest. “I’m sorry…” He whispered, wiping away the second tear, that guilty feeling only getting worse with each tear that spilt. “I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

So that was why he was crying, because whatever had happened between him and Oikawa had upset him. He thought it was what ruined his night, which in fairness it was, but it wasn’t entirely Bokuto’s fault. Oikawa should have known better. Akaashi shivered as Bokuto pulled out of him slowly, lying on the bed beside him. At least Bokuto managed to hide half of the tears now. “What did you even do with Oikawa, that made you say you made a mistake?”

There was a deep breath, followed by an extremely shaky sigh.  “It was just a kiss I swear.” If he didn’t sound so upset, Akaashi wouldn’t have believed him for a second. It wasn’t something that would upset someone like that, he’d already jumped to the conclusion that Bokuto knew everything and did it out of spite to piss Akaashi off. Bokuto never had been the sort of person to do something like that but the possibility was still there. Everyone had that one crazy thing they’d do for revenge, Akaashi didn’t know when he’d push Bokuto to that point but he’d figured it was going to come soon enough.

“Did you kiss him, or was it him kissing you?”

“I don’t know! Both I guess.”

Akaashi wiped away a tear from Bokuto’s cheek, more irritated at Oikawa, he knew Bokuto was beyond off limits.  “He’s my roommate Koutarou.” He said softly, getting a soft sob as a response. He really wasn’t good at making the situation better. “I guess this was how I felt after what happened with Kuroo.” He admitted, not wanting to spill everything else that had happened since then or prior to it but just that one incident.

“I was pissed off with the two of you, that’s why I did it.” Bokuto mumbled, turning away from Akaashi. So the truth came out, it really was out of spite. “You guys are always hanging out without me now and I was scared you hated me and wanted him.”

Well he was half right there, Akaashi did want Kuroo. He would be in Kuroo’s bed right now if it hadn’t been for this drama. Who really knows what they would have gotten up to, it would have been more relaxing than putting up with this though.

His bluntness really did make him seem like an asshole sometimes. It was certainly a good thing that he’d learnt to hold back in the past few years. “Kou, please stop crying.” Akaashi whispered, he couldn’t even be annoyed anymore, let alone angry, he just felt sad. “I love you, I don’t care, it was just a stupid mistake.”

***

Two days had passed, in two days Akaashi hadn’t seen his roommate once. He didn’t know if Oikawa was avoiding him, or if it was just that they kept missing each other. It’d happened before, the two managing to not cross paths for a week at one stage. Akaashi more assumed that Oikawa was just studying constantly. He was kind of obsessive about some things, volleyball and school was all he knew of, so far.

It meant being in his dorm was more than peaceful, no one making excessive noise or any phone calls bothering him. While he and Bokuto had made up, they hadn’t spoken again, leaving it where they were, it was safer. Akaashi and Kuroo on the other hand, they’d spoken numerous times, having to plan their own respective photography projects together as well as a study session. Kuroo even came close to crashing in Akaashi’s dorm room last night, but decided against it when he learned about Akaashi’s morning classes, choosing to sleep in, in his own bed.

It was fortunate, given that he’d heard Oikawa come in during the night but he’d left to go to class and when he came back that afternoon, Oikawa wasn’t there. In the past few days, Akaashi had, had an increase in his school workload, finding it bearable but meant most of his focus was on that. This afternoon alone he’d managed to write the main part of an essay that he had to hand in, in a few days.

He glanced up as he heard a knock on the door, getting up from his seat at his desk, opening the door slightly to see Kuroo. He looked so tired, which Akaashi was certainly surprised by, while he’d gone home late, he’d had the opportunity to sleep in that morning. “I want to test something for my photography project.” Kuroo said, letting himself in, only to collapse onto Akaashi’s bed.

“Come in.” He muttered sarcastically, going back to his desk, his eyes going from his text book and Kuroo, waiting for the other to say or do something. He didn’t after five minutes, Akaashi half thinking that Kuroo was sleeping until he saw the other staring at his phone, seeming to be messaging someone or scrolling through some form of social media. “Are you going to tell me, or was it just an excuse for you to crash here between classes?” Akaashi asked, sick of staring at the textbook and focusing his attention on Kuroo.

“Oh, yeah, sorry! My chem class got cancelled, the professor has to go away and forgot to tell the TA what the lesson plan is so she said we’ll have class on Friday evening, because that should give the TA time to prepare, and majority of the class doesn’t have any night lessons.” Kuroo said, rambling on, Akaashi would have been satisfied with class got cancelled so he had a lot more time, instead he got Kuroo’s life story. “Anyway, I want to test out whether I can smudge some lipstick near your lips, to see if it looks like a sloppy kiss.”

“that sounds stupid but okay.” Akaashi mumbled, closing his textbook and packing his stationery away. He wasn’t going to say no in all honesty, why would he? It was Kuroo’s project and a bit of makeup on his face wasn’t going to kill him. If it did, Kuroo would have to suffer all of the consequences. “What if it doesn’t look the way you want it to? I mean you’re no beauty student.”

Kuroo shrugged, picking his back pack off of the floor, rummaging through it for a few moments, Akashi noticing that when he started the contents was rather neat, after less than a minute of rummaging, it was a mess. “The other alternative is that you have to kiss me whilst I’m wearing lipstick.”

“Oh no, I’d hate that.” He mumbled, rolling his eyes. Kuroo motioned for him to come closer, Akaashi rolling on his chair over to Kuroo, it felt easier than getting up and sitting on the bed. Even though it was rather, annoying given that there was a rug on their floor. Kuroo laughed dryly, twisting the lipstick tube so that enough of it was exposed to apply it onto Akaashi’s lips. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Sort of… Are you fine with me putting it on and smudging it?”

“Yeah, it’s not like I could do any better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the detailed smut that people were hoping for, but it was just meant to be 'back ground noise' to what was going on in Akaashi's head.


	7. When Will Everything Go Back To Normal?

If someone walked in on them now, there would certainly be a lot of explaining that would have needed to be done. Kuroo straddling Akaashi, taking photos of the other. Although Kuroo’s back was to the door and Akaashi was shirtless which would also be hard to explain. Hell, Kuroo knew any explanation to this would have a lie involved. Sure they were working on his project and he was taking photos of Akaashi, but they both had the stupid, uncooperative lipstick on their faces and all over Akaashi’s neck and collar bones as well.

They may or may not have gotten carried away. He was sure Akaashi would phrase it differently if Kuroo asked him on his opinion of the matter. “Stop angling your head back like that, you look like a freak.” Kuroo chuckled, taking several quick shots of him anyway. As good looking as Akaashi was, he was an awkward model at times, he seemed to have a knack for the angles that looks as awkward as possible, each time Kuroo got him to move his head there was just something about it that looked ridiculous on camera unless he moved him into the position himself.

Maybe it was deliberate. Kuroo had known Akaashi for long enough that he would say and sometimes do things just to annoy others, Bokuto in particular. Everyone always said that Kuroo and Bokuto were the ones that could provoke anyone, but Akaashi had just as much talent in that field as well. That was probably why the three of them all go along so well. Akaashi was just more direct in a way and somehow it pissed less people off. Perhaps that was because the brunt of his provocation was directed at Bokuto. “Why did you end up with that shit all over your face as well?” Akaashi asked, propping himself up on an elbow whilst he reached up and rubbed Kuroo’s cheek with his knuckles. “Does it look as stupid on you as it does on me?”

Kuroo was silent for a moment, taking a few shots of Akaashi it that position, making sure to get his arm in the shot. It was probably going to end up being a poor quality shot, given that Akaashi wobbled a little but if it turned out goof it was certainly going to end up as a keeper for the draft of his submission. “It was always going to end up smearing on my face too, did you forget that I put it on your lips as well?” Kuroo couldn’t help but smirk at the other, continuing to take photographs as the other as his expression shifted from a bored one, to one that seemed to be more annoyed.

Although Kuroo wouldn’t have quite labelled that as Akaashi’s annoyed face. He’d earned that grimace time and time again, this one on the other hand was kind of half hearted, but worked really well for the both of them. “I guess it’s my fault then.” Was that supposed to be a guilt trip? Was Akaashi seriously trying to make him apologise for the two of them wasting half an hour making out and ‘trying’ to get the desired look with the lipstick.

Akaashi hadn’t been the one that was fine with continuing, never. He certainly hadn’t _suggested_ continuing.

It actually was Akaashi’s fault to an extent. “Do you have any baby wipes so I can get this off of my face then, that way you don’t have to look at me like this?” Kuroo asked, setting the camera on the bedside table. He’d gotten enough shots from this place anyway. He moved off of Akaashi, still sitting on the bed but with his back against the wall, looking at the other expectantly.

“Good, you look disgusting.” Akaashi joked, sitting up also, rubbing the back of his hand along his chin, only managing to smear the lipstick more. It really did seem to only smear when they weren’t deliberately trying to get it to. In fairness it had been very cheap. “I think Oikawa has some, give me a second.”

Kuroo’s eyes followed Akaashi as the other crossed the room, opening the drawers of Oikawa’s bedside table, finding a packet that was definitely what they needed. He outstretched his hands as Akaashi threw them at him, the other must have assumed that Kuroo wasn’t quite done with him. It was a correct assumption that was for sure. “Thank you.” He sang, plucking out the first wipe from the plastic packaging. “Are you and Oikawa talking yet?” Kuroo asked, wiping off the rich red hue from his face, having to get a second and then a third wipe before it was all gone.

“We haven’t even been in the same room without one of us being asleep, he came back last night though, so it was probably a good thing you didn’t stay.” Akaashi said, taking the packet from Kuroo’s lap and placing it on Oikawa’s bedside table, knowing they were going to need to use it when they’d gotten all of the photos. Which really shouldn’t take that long anyway. There was only so many he could take in the one location and with every inch of the walls in this room being covered with something, whether it be a flag from another nation or posters there was no blank space, well except for the door, but Kuroo would have preferred a white backdrop. “It’s not like it’s the first time that, that’s happened though. So he probably isn’t avoiding me.”

He highly doubted that Oikawa wasn’t avoiding Akaashi, he would have been if he was in the same position that Oikawa was in. Oikawa wasn’t an idiot; he would have known that giving Akaashi time to cool off was going to be what saved him. Kuroo had never seen Akaashi get violent, although if he ended up snapping over something it would be Bokuto kissing/being involved with someone else. It was incredibly hypocritical but there was clearly some level of possessiveness there. Talking to the two of them though, it had seemed like Akaashi wasn’t mad with Bokuto, which was a stark contrast to when he’d entered Bokuto’s place the other night. “At training yesterday morning Oikawa mostly trained by himself, although that was partly because he was working on serves.” Kuroo muttered, resting his head on Akaashi’s shoulder as the other sat down.

“I honestly couldn’t care less if he was trying to shove his tongue down the entire team’s throats, it’s about how Bokuto deals with it.” Akaashi grumbled, clearly put out by having to talk about Oikawa. The two shared a small room, how did they plan on ever being able to get along if there was going to be some very distinct tension. Although a peaceful life wasn’t always a happy life. “Everything will go back to normal, eventually.”

***

Something didn’t sit right with Kuroo, it had been three days since their little photoshoot and some of the things that Akaashi had said left him feeling unsettled. He knew he was probably just being dramatic, but the fact that Akaashi was sure everything would go back to normal. He didn’t understand how that was going to happen, what was going on between them was not normal. No one that was in their right mind would, Akaashi and Bokuto being happy and in love was what was normal.

They were in love; he was pretty sure of that. Bokuto wouldn’t have done something so well crazy, if he didn’t love Akaashi he wouldn’t have done something to get the other’s attention in the way that he did. Kuroo knew he was just there to pass the time, eventually Akaashi would come to his senses, but in saying that everything would go back to normal he worried that it would be sooner rather than later.

If Kuroo could label himself as one thing, it was realistic, he knew that when he applied for the courses they were the ones that he could pass with high marks. His parents were supportive of that choice but also said that he was wasting his potential and playing it safe. Most would have said going into pharmaceutical sciences was overly ambitious. However, given his involvement with the volleyball team did make him feel like it was the right fit.

With Akaashi if he was being realistic their involvement, whether they wanted to consider it an affair or otherwise, it was going to last a year at best. Akaashi would either get bored or give in to the guilt and give up on it all together. He’d be disappointed of course, Akaashi was beautiful and basically his ideal type of person, to be around and to sleep with, but he would accept it as the inevitable.

The only issue with his unsettled emotion, was that it was distracting as hell. Even now as he sat on the couch, it was what he was thinking about rather than on the textbook in front of him. A textbook that he really should have been focusing on given that he had a rather important exam in the next week, along with like three others but this was certainly the most heavily weighted.

Taking a break and eating, or having a shower, wasn’t going to make him feel less distracted. He didn’t have anyone that he could bitch to, Akaashi would probably just dismiss the suggestion or worse be honest and agree with him. Which would just do his head in even more. The buzzing in his back pocket took his attention, Kuroo fishing it out and swiping across to answer the call. “What’s up Bokuto?” He asked, putting the book to the side.

There was laughter down the other end of the phone, Kuroo was sure he heard Akaashi tell the other ‘It’s not that funny’ but he couldn’t be definite on that. “Keiji just told me the best thing.” Bokuto said amidst his laughter.

“What is it?” Kuroo asked slowly unsure if he really wanted to hear this. He didn’t want to have Bokuto finding out about them and just acting cheer about it. Actually he doubted Bokuto would be laughing that much if it was anything that serious.

“Keiji got a job as a waiter.”

“What?” Kuroo couldn’t help but laugh, sure Akaashi was fun, but he wasn’t exactly the sort of person Kuroo could see serving others. There were plenty of jokes saying that he was royalty and other things. But they did all know that his parents were reasonably well off, they were paying for his degree and his living expenses, something Akaashi didn’t really like talking about but most of them were in similar standing, Kuroo’s parents were paying for his living expenses and he had to take out loans for school though. It was an arrangement he’d deemed more than fair. “What does he need a job for, did daddy finally cut off Keiji?”

That only earned more laughter and a very firm, ‘Fuck you guys.’ in the background. Bokuto must have had him on speaker for Akaashi to have heard him. “Something about needing to buy stuff that his parents won’t approve of, like new lenses for his camera. Do you want to ruin one of his shifts with me?”

“Of course!”


	8. A Couple Like The Kennedys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, I found some inspiration about an hour ago listening to the song I hate u, I love u

He didn’t know why he continued to put up with it. That was a lie, Bokuto knew, he knew they were lying to his face constantly, that Akaashi actually seemed happy regularly for once, rather than that constant air of nonchalance. He’d known him for years as they’d been together for long enough that he knew Kuroo was making Akaashi happy.

Just like how Oikawa made him feel inferior and his boss frustrated him to no end. Bokuto wasn’t dumb, he just played dumb until he felt like breaking, that way Akaashi could continue playing this game with Kuroo and eventually come back to him, everything being, well not better, but to a version of okay at the very least. It was merely a phase and while Bokuto didn’t like what Akaashi was doing, that was an understatement, whenever he saw Kuroo and Akaashi together, having fun in their own little world, it hurt. His chest felt like there was a large weight plate on it, too heavy for him to move. He did like the person that Akaashi was becoming, he was certainly healthier in more ways than one.

“Did you see Tetsurou’s photos of Akaashi?” Oikawa asked, the setter lying on Bokuto’s floor, stretching, the movements slow and Oikawa’s face often shifting to an expression that was probably pain. Bokuto gave an affirmative hum, his leg shaking slowly.

He’d definitely seen the photos, not to mention half of the school of arts had. They were amazing, but they were also a confirmation of what Bokuto thought that he already knew, something he’d been praying he wouldn’t be able to see. “Have you talked to them about it?”

“What’s to talk about, they both care way too much about that class, Kuroo would have wanted to do something edgy.” Bokuto says softly, the weight on his chest coming back as he thinks about the interaction he saw between Kuroo and Akaashi after the photos were put on display. They didn’t kiss in front of everyone at least. But they might as well have.

Bokuto could see Oikawa wasn’t pleased with that sort of answer. He didn’t know what else he was supposed to say though. They were friends but this didn’t involve the brunet, and his prying had proven to make matters worse. “You know this reminds me of American politics.” Oikawa said rather suddenly, sounding way too happy with himself. “You’re the Jackie O and Kuroo is Marilyn Munroe.”

“I don’t understand.”

He couldn’t miss the sigh from Oikawa when he realised he was going to have to explain himself. “Jackie O was the wife of a president who supposedly slept with a movie star, said president was shot in the head in public.”

“Are you saying you’re going to shoot my boyfriend because of what is going on between him and Kuroo? That’s messed up Oikawa!” Bokuto said, it being his turn to look annoyed, most of all disgusted in the comment.

Oikawa laughed softly, rolling onto his stomach and looking at him. “No, that’s not really related, my point is you’re the wife that is waiting in the wings for it to all blow over, because you love him and you believe he will come back to you. This is all rumours from the 60s.”

“You’re an idiot.” Bokuto sighed, worried that he really was that transparent, Oikawa would know he felt that way anyway given that he complained to the setter, because he couldn’t go to the two that ordinarily would have been his first choices. There wasn’t much he could do about that though.

Oikawa rolled, back, returning to his stretches, Bokuto’s eyes going back to his laptop which he was watching a match from an opposing team that they were going up against in the upcoming weeks, one of the players on the team having gone to Oikawa’s school, the guy supposedly being the team’s ace. “You’re too calm that this will all work out for you, Kou-chan.”

“I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> There will be smut later, hence the explicit rating


End file.
